“Aren’t you worried?”
“Would it help?”
When Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks come together for a film a lot is expected. It’s natural, Spielberg being the most famous director of all time and Hanks one of the last true prestige movie stars. A lot is expected from Bridge of Spies, so it is very pleasing to see it all pay off so handsomely.
Bridge of Spies takes an obviously serious subject – cold war spies, the construction of the Berlin War, the face off between the United States and the Soviet Union – and produces a film that is unexpectedly enjoyable.
Much of the enjoyment comes from the cast, with Hanks leading a group of surprisingly unfamiliar faces. Mark Rylance (an outstanding stage actor who hasn’t had a chance to become a recognizable film actor until now, and is set to literally become a movie giant) is exceptional as the second lead, a captured Russian spy named Rudolf Abel.
It’s through Abel that Hanks’ insurance lawyer James Donovan, a character so typically Hanks that the character name is easily forgotten.
Hanks is tapped to defend Abel by his boss Alan Alda in what is basically a sham trial. Hanks’ all-American sense of justice and liberty and freedom and all those other things lawyers in 1950s Brooklyn believe in force him to put together a decent defence and become attached to Abel.
Of course, Hanks’ defence isn’t enough to secure an actual trial, even in the supreme court. This blatant ignoring of human rights is glazed over in the film, with Hanks’ complaints shrugged off because the enemy is bad, I guess.
The public doesn’t take too kindly to Hanks doing his job well and being a decent human being, which creates tension for his underused family of Amy Ryan and Eve Hewson. The Donovan family is introduced as genuine characters with lives (and the only genuine female presence in the film) but are shoved into the background by the second act and left as marmalade lovers.
Spielberg’s trademark missing father is the main character in this film and he misses a chance to showcase his emotions and actions in leaving his family behind. We’ve seen over and over the effect a missing father can have on a family, and Spielberg could have given us a mirror effect in this film.
Hanks gets picked out by the government (because he is in the paper?) to go the Europe, help in negotiations with the Russians and East Germans as the Berlin Wall pops up and creates chaos and get a cold. This is a good movie for handkerchiefs.
Bridge of Spies is certainly not without flaws. There are no real multi-dimensional female characters (and no characters of colour) but that can be excused away, as I guess it’s not proper to invent characters in a real life situation, because nobody would have ever done that before.
Hanks just plays himself during the film and while that’s great – no it really is, he’s pretty fantastic – he never has to really leave his comfort zone as the righteous, good guy Tom Hanks that he is.
But that works. The script, originally by Matt Charman, but touched up by the Waugh brothers of film, Joel and Ethan Coen, does a fantastic job of maintaining interest in a story that could easily have drifted into a mundane period piece.
There is just enough humour to keep things moving. With Hanks’ one liners all hitting their target, the curoiusly hilarious addition of Abel’s family and the weird addition of thumbs to the third act. A key to Rylance’s masterful performance is his dry wit, turning his dire conversations with Hanks into engaging scenes.
Rylance should be in line for an Oscar nomination for his supporting role and his performance looks set to see him become a really solid role player in film.
Spielberg hangs back with his direction, doing nothing particularly showy. He makes sure to make it clear there was a budget to re-create the 1950s in Brooklyn by including all the sights, and shrewdly follows the characters around. His two bigger scenes in terms of tension are middling, with a speeding car scene forgotten quicker than it should, and the key scene on the actual bridge failing to be truly memorable.
Bridge of Spies is just a really good time though. It’s rare for a period piece aiming to be prestigious to be this funny. When Spielberg and Hanks come together there is a lot of pressure, but this film breaks through and is genuinely entertaining.
Bridge of Spies – 8.7 out of 10
Steven Spielberg’s best in a decade, Bridge of Spies uses it’s talent wisely and creates a memorable experience.
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